A Weasley in a Pear Tree
by Boogum
Summary: Handsome men don't fall out of trees, but obnoxious redheads sometimes do.


This was written for a Christmas challenge at _The DG Forum_. The rules are listed at the end.

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><p><strong>A Weasley in a Pear Tree<strong>

Draco Malfoy did not like Christmas. He hated everything about the holiday: from the gaudy decorations that were hung on the walls and trees, to the annoyingly cheerful carols that people—and even the suits of armour—insisted on singing. But what he really hated was the way everyone got so damn joyful. It was like all of Hogwarts had been struck with a Cheering Charm, and he was the only person who had managed to stay in his right mind. Well, except Snape, of course. The Potions Master was renowned for his grouchiness around December, and often looked like he had been force-fed poison whenever someone wished him a merry Christmas. Draco knew how he felt. It was disgusting the way people behaved to one another—all smiley and happy—and the blond was having none of it.

"People are supposed to fear me," he grumbled, "not give me season greetings."

Unfortunately for him, that inexplicable Christmas spirit had managed to worm itself into the school, and that left no room for any emotion except of the sick-making kind. Where a student had once trembled in his presence, now he found himself received with grins and a jolly hello. It was terrible, and Draco wished that his mother and father had just let him go home for Christmas. At least in the manor the few decorations that Narcissa did allow to be hung up were tasteful and subdued. Furthermore, the Christmas tree was always elegant and coordinated, no carols were ever sung, and any 'merry Christmases' were limited to the exchanging of gifts.

That was the only decent thing about Christmas, he supposed: the presents. Whatever Draco could not whine and wheedle out of his parents during the rest of the year, he always managed to get at Christmas time. Still, that didn't mean he had to like the stupid holiday. It was annoying and over-rated, and he wished with all his heart that it was over. Unfortunately, it was only Christmas Eve, and that meant a whole extra day of torturous carols and season greetings.

Draco sighed and let his head rest against the trunk of the tree he was sitting under. He had retreated outside to escape the Christmas atmosphere pervading Hogwarts, hoping to find a space where he could loathe the season and all of its traditions in peace. The old pear tree near the far end of the grounds had seemed ideal. No one ever bothered to come out this far.

He smiled and closed his eyes, basking in the solitude of the moment, when there was a sudden shriek from above him. Draco barely had time to realise what was happening before something toppled out of the branches and landed hard in his lap, making his head smack against the trunk from the impact and his legs jerk in pain. He groaned and rubbed his head, where he could feel a bruise quickly forming.

"What the hell?" he muttered, staring down at the lump of black and red sprawled on his lap, and which smelt oddly of jasmine.

The lump moaned as it shifted, and Draco suddenly became aware of soft curves brushing against his body as the thing—the _girl_—pressed her small hands on his chest and raised herself into a sitting position. The curtain of red fell away, revealing a pair of large brown eyes and a passably pretty face, which was lightly dusted with freckles. It was the freckles that did it.

"Weasley!" Draco exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at the redhead.

Ginny still had her hands on his chest, but she removed them now and gave him a sheepish grin. "Oops."

"Oops?" he repeated. "Is that all you can say?"

She shrugged, and then winced. "Gods, that hurts," she muttered, prodding at her ribs.

"Can't have hurt that much," he said dryly. "What, with me breaking your fall and all."

"Yes, it was nice of you to do that," she agreed, bestowing him with a bright smile.

His jaw tightened; he knew she was mocking him. "You've got some nerve, Weasley."

"Oh, come on!" she cried, losing some of her good humour. "It's not like I fell on you on purpose. I just happened to fall out of the tree and you just happened to be sitting under it. End of story."

"That doesn't explain why you were up in the tree in the first place, let alone falling out of it. And do you mind getting off me?" he added, giving her an exasperated look. "My lap is not a free parking space."

Ginny's lips twitched. "And here I thought you would enjoy having a girl on your lap. With your repellent personality, I imagine it can't happen very often."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Charming. Now get off!"

"Alright, alright," she said, extricating herself from his lap. "You don't need to snap, you know."

"Weasley, you just landed on top of me after falling out of a tree. You're lucky I haven't hexed you yet."

Ginny laughed. "How magnanimous of you. Would you like me to give you a candy cane for your efforts? I know I have one somewhere."

The glare that followed this remark was enough to make her hold her hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I won't tease you any more."

Draco ignored her and got to his feet, grimacing slightly as he straightened to his full height. "Damn it, Weasley, what are you made of?" he grumbled, throwing her another glare. "I feel like I've been hit with one of McGonagall's giant chess pieces."

The sheepish expression came back to her face. "I really am sorry, Malfoy. I just lost my grip and, well, you know the rest."

He frowned. "What were you doing up in the tree anyway?"

"Just sitting," she said with a shrug. "It's quiet up there, and since it's one of the only trees that have been spelled to keep its leaves in winter, it makes an ideal hiding place. Plus, the pears are actually quite tasty."

"So you were hiding."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I never said that."

"But you implied it." He smirked. "Got tired of Potter drooling after you, did you?"

Ginny folded her arms. "For your information, Malfoy, Harry and I are just friends."

"That isn't what it looks like to me."

A smile curled her lips. "You pay attention to my love life, do you?"

"What?" he exclaimed. "No! I mean—no."

Ginny's eyes began to dance. "Oh, Malfoy, are you going pink?"

The flush of warmth on his cheeks told him that he was, but his mantra had always been to deny, deny, deny. He wasn't about to break that mantra now.

"Of course not," he said firmly. "I'm just cold."

"_Right_," she said, drawing out the word to emphasise her incredulity.

Draco scowled and looked the other way. He was _not_ blushing, and he most definitely did _not_ care about the Weasley girl's love life. She wasn't even that pretty. Just a common thing, really, with far too many freckles and far too vibrant hair. Those big brown eyes of hers didn't do a thing for him, and the way her bottom lip jutted out slightly to give her that oddly stubborn yet pouty look wasn't cute at all. Because she wasn't cute, damn it. No way.

"Oh, look!" Ginny exclaimed, holding her hands palm up to the air. "It's snowing!"

Draco blinked, shaken out of his thoughts, and looked up to see a few specks of white floating towards him. One of the snowflakes landed on his nose, and he brushed it off impatiently. He'd never liked the snow. It was cold and damp, and just plain irritating. Ginny, however, seemed perfectly delighted with the change in weather, and was now spinning around in circles, laughing like she had just been given a rare treat.

"Isn't this wonderful?" she cried, halting in her spinning to grin at him. "We're going to have a white Christmas, after all!"

"Oh, sure," he said dryly. "It's a real gift from the sky."

Ginny nudged him in the ribs. "Don't be such a killjoy. Even you have to admit that Christmas wouldn't be the same without snow."

"People in the southern hemisphere don't get snow at Christmas, and I'm sure they make do."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "My gosh, Malfoy, you seriously know how to dampen the mood. I hate to think what you'd be like on a date."

The blond stiffened, offended by her implication. "I hardly think my lack of excitement over some silly white substance that only succeeds in making you cold and wet determines whether I'd be good on a date."

"Maybe not, but that priggish defence you just made certainly convinced me you'd suck big time."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He turned to leave, but a tug on his arm made him pause.

"Wait!" Ginny cried, still clutching his arm. "I'm sorry if I offended you; I was only teasing, you know. You don't need to go running off."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I was not running off. I simply don't see the point of standing out here in the cold and snow—especially when all you're doing is making idiotic comments."

She laughed, and he noted the way her amusement extended all the way to her eyes, warming them with a smile. "Oh, Malfoy, what am I going to do with you?"

His brow creased in confusion. What the heck was that supposed to mean? And why was she looking at him like that?

Ginny stood on her tiptoes and leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Draco," she whispered in his ear. "You're one grumpy bastard, but you're actually kind of cute when you're not trying to be such a jerk."

Draco blinked, his body freezing up completely as he stood there in astonishment. He could not believe what had just happened, let alone what she had said. Ginny dropped back to her normal height and grinned at his dazed expression.

"I'll be seeing you around, Malfoy. Perhaps we'll run into each other under the mistletoe."

She winked and then headed off in the direction of the castle. Draco frowned and touched his hand to his cheek, where he could still feel the warm imprint of her lips. The shock still hadn't quite worn off, but then his mind finally processed what she had said in parting, and his eyes darted back to watch her retreating figure. A small smile curved his mouth.

"Oh, we'll be meeting under the mistletoe, alright," Draco murmured. "I'm not letting you off the hook that easily."

No girl fell on him, teased him, _kissed_ him, and then left and got away with it. Especially not an obnoxious, freckled redhead. Besides, he thought he could get used to this Christmas thing if it meant he got a few kisses under the mistletoe. Indeed, perhaps he had been wrong all this time and the holiday wasn't so bad, after all.

A poorly sung version of 'Deck the Halls' drifted to his ears, and he realised it must be coming from that oaf, Hagrid.

Scratch that. Christmas was still a terrible travesty, but he'd still take the kiss under the mistletoe for what it was worth. He didn't have to like the season, but as a Slytherin he'd damn well use it to his advantage.

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><p><strong>The Obligatory Christmas Challenge<strong>

**Prompt:** Write a DG fanfic including or inspired by at least one of the Twelve Days of Christmas. That does not mean you have to be limited to one—you can include them all if you want—but make sure you use at least one. Try to be creative!

**Word count:** Minimum of 500 words.

**Bonus Points:** If you somehow include all of the Twelve Days of Christmas. If Snape or at least one 'humbug' character is involved.

**Deadline:** 25th December, whenever that is for you.

Note: The 'day' I used was obviously the first day of Christmas: a partridge in a pear tree. I really wanted to use them all, but I ran out of time. Perhaps one day I can expand on this and turn it into a chaptered fic.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot, and I hope you all have a merry Christmas! ^_^


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